ABC7 TRAFFIC: Overnight construction is complete, and everything’s looking good so far for the commute. Metro repairs this weekend set for Red, Blue, Orange and Yellow lines. Here’s the traffic flow map: http://tbd.ly/95jmWZ

BREAKING: Two people were killed shortly before 5 a.m. when their car struck a telephone pole in front of the United Medical Center in Southeast, police say. The vehicle split in half and caught fire in the 1300 block of Southern Avenue. http://wj.la/o9Nl1m

ABC7 WEEKEND WEATHER: Today will remain nice and sunny, after which a bit of uncertainty enters the picture. The threat of showers and storms will increase Saturday night and Sunday. Areas of heavy rain are likely, as well, as the threat for some strong to severe storms. http://wj.la/72e8x6

MARKET ROULETTE: Asian markets weren’t impressed today by a surge Thursday on Wall Street fueled, in part, by lower unemployment numbers. The European markets took a better view. All in all, "It's a very volatile market and everyone is reacting to every bit of news. The guy who is trying to pick the bottom is still very much at risk here," Tom Kaan of Louis Capital Markets in Hong Kong told the AP. http://apne.ws/nOq4d7

POST-DEBATE SPIN: Last night’s GOP debate was, in a nutshell, a heated back-and-forth between two candidates, Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann. Afterward, both camps reacted predictably and, as the L.A. Times points out, “In the middle of the fracas was Mitt Romney’s camp, which had to enjoy the simple truth that the more time Bachmann and Pawlenty spent ripping each other, the less time they had to gang-tackle the front-runner.” http://lat.ms/oiYWHb

MEANWHILE: Word strategically was released that Texas Gov. Rick Perry definitely will enter the GOP field tomorrow. That means, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Perry has never lost an election, but running in Texas is different from playing on the national stage, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. "Rick Perry is a very successful Texas politician, but there are a lot of people in Triple A baseball that hit .350 with 50 home runs. Now let's see if he can hit major-league pitching." http://bit.ly/rfsTyH

D.C. BARBEQUE: Mainly pork. “D.C. Council members have used an independent nonprofit organization to steer millions of taxpayer dollars to favored charities, often with ties to friends or campaign donors, a Washington Post review shows. The organization, the D.C. Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp., was created by the council to decide independently which local charities best address problems facing city youths. But The Post’s review found that council members often influence those decisions, sometimes without public bids and despite a council ban on earmarks.” http://wapo.st/nev5SI

ON SECOND THOUGHT: Per the Examiner, “Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has asked county agencies to cut $150 million from construction projects over the next six years to protect the county's coveted AAA bond rating. The effort aims to reduce the county's dependency on general obligation bonds.” http://bit.ly/oM7GR7

OF VIRGINIA INTEREST: Pay the fiddler, please. Per the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “A once-powerful member of the Virginia House of Delegates is facing up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced this morning in federal court on charges of public corruption. Phillip A. Hamilton, 59, was found guilty by a jury in May of bribery and extortion for arranging funding for (a learning center) at Old Dominion University in 2007 in exchange for a job as its director.” http://bit.ly/oSYHnM

ARUBA MYSTERY: Aruban prosecutors are ramping up their investigation into Gathersburg resident Gary Giordano, a suspect in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner, and have requested the FBI’s help. Giordano has stopped cooperating. http://wj.la/nl6Der

POLITICO BLINK: “Still licking their wounds from what liberals believe was a capitulation by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats on the debt deal, liberal activists online are consoling themselves with — and pushing — confrontations at congressional town hall meetings. Sites like Daily Kos and Think Progress are gleefully cataloguing local news reports of angry constituents confronting the likes of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — for reading the Wall Street Journal’s “hobbits” editorial — and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) — for entitlement cuts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Obama’s perceived move to the right.” http://politi.co/mXSXWj

JUST READ IT: Per the AP, “A famed Austrian museum has fired an employee for washing his hands and face with his urine.” http://apne.ws/nBXUxJ